Iosif Shapiro was born on December 15, 1907 in Minsk, Russian Empire [now Belarus]. He was a director and writer, known for Sofya Kovalevskaya (1956), Doch rodiny (1937) and Nevskiye melodii (1960). He died on May 23, 1989 in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].